Hégésippe Légitimus

Hégésippe Jean Légitimus (born 8 April 1868 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe; died 29 November 1944 in Angles-sur-l'Anglin, France) was a socialist politician from Guadeloupe who served in the French National Assembly from 1898–1902 and from 1906-1914.

Légitimus was the first black man elected to the French parliament since Jean-Baptiste Belley in 1793. Up until 1898 the colonies and territoires d'Outre-Mer had only been represented by white or mixed-race, or "béké" deputies. Légitimus was followed shortly afterwards by other black deputies, Gratien Candace, Blaise Diagne, Ngalandou Diouf, Achille René-Boisneuf and Maurice Satineau. Légitimus was one of the founders of the Parti Ouvrier, the socialist party of Guadaloupe, which was politically aligned with that of mainland France.

Hegesippe Jean Légitimus, councilor and mayor of Pointe-à-Pitre, founder of the socialist movement in Guadeloupe, Member of Parliament in Paris, scored heavily at the beginning of the century French political life.

He was the first black to sit in the parliamentary assembly alongside Guesde, Jean Jaurès and Léon Blum, he was a friend with.

In 1870 began a sugar crisis had the effect of concentrating the properties in favor of plants that already belonged to the industrial metropolis. This crisis would continue until 1914. Many families abandoned the city for Guadeloupe.

At this crisis, a new political movement coincided claiming socialism. This trend was personified by Jean Légitimus Hegesippus in Guadeloupe and Martinique in Lagrosillière Joseph.

So a socialist movement took shape in late Model: nineteenth century. He was represented in Guadeloupe by the Socialist Party which Hegesippe Jean Légitimus was a founder.

Also founder of Republican Youth Committee and the Workers Party of Guadeloupe, he founded the newspaper "The People" in 1891 where he signed texts of primary importance as the "Great whites, mulattos big, tall Negroes," or "Negroes before. " This party, being the first party to defend the workers and blacks, quickly became popular.

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